Privacy Policy
Last updated August 9, 2026
Hokaku is built to run entirely on your own Mac. It captures, annotates, and exports screenshots locally, and never sends them anywhere on its own. This policy explains, in plain language, what that means for your data.
The short version
- Hokaku has no server and no account system. There is nothing for us to store on your behalf, because we never receive your data.
- Screenshots are captured, edited, and exported entirely on your Mac. They leave the machine only when you deliberately copy them to the clipboard or save a file.
- App preferences (default color, line width, and similar settings) are stored locally on your Mac. They never leave it.
- Hokaku contains no analytics SDKs, no advertising SDKs, and no third-party trackers of any kind.
Information we collect
None. Hokaku does not operate any servers that receive, log, or process your screenshots or usage activity. The app does not ask for your name, email address, or any account credentials of its own.
Screen Recording permission
To capture your screen, Hokaku requires macOS's Screen Recording permission (System Settings ▸ Privacy & Security ▸ Screen & System Audio Recording). This is a standard macOS entitlement granted and revoked by you in System Settings. It lets the app read the screen contents you choose to capture — nothing is recorded or transmitted in the background, and captures happen only when you initiate them.
Where your screenshots actually go
A captured image lives in memory while you edit it, and is written to disk only when you save it — to the location you choose, on your own Mac. Copying to the clipboard hands the image to macOS's standard pasteboard so you can paste it into another app. Hokaku does not route your images through any intermediary server of ours; there isn't one.
Information stored on your device
App preferences — things like your last-used annotation color and line width — are stored locally in your user Library folder. This never leaves your Mac, and contains no image data.
Non-sandboxed by necessity
Hokaku is not distributed through the Mac App Store because native screen capture needs Screen Recording access that Apple's App Sandbox does not permit. It is signed and notarized directly with Apple using a Developer ID certificate, and distributed as a direct download instead.
Third parties
Hokaku does not integrate with any third-party analytics, advertising, or crash-reporting service. It makes no network connections of its own.
Children's privacy
Hokaku is a general-purpose utility and is not directed at children. It does not knowingly collect information from anyone, of any age, because it does not collect information at all.
Deleting your data
Saved screenshots are ordinary files you control — delete them like any other file. Uninstalling Hokaku removes the app and its local preferences. You can revoke Screen Recording access at any time in System Settings.
Changes to this policy
If this policy changes, we'll update the date at the top of this page. Since Hokaku doesn't collect contact information, we're not able to notify you directly — check back here if you'd like to stay current.
Contact
Questions about this policy? Visit the Support page.